1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions efficacious in aiding weight loss and, more particularly, to such compositions for use by humans.
2. Description of Related Art
In 1992 it was estimated that 50 million Americans would begin a diet. In a survey sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Agency and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (1991/1992), 5% of women and 2% of men attempted to lose weight with the use of diet pills. Those products considered by the FDA to be over-the-counter weight control drugs are primarily those containing the active ingredient phenylpropanolamine (PPA).
Although current wisdom has indicated that a persistent course of exercise and healthy eating habits is the most likely to succeed, Americans spend an estimated $30 billion a year on diet programs and products. Among such products, for which there is little or no evidence of efficacy, are diet patches (now banned by the FDA), "fat blockers," "starch blockers," "magnet" diet pills to "flush fat out of the body," glucomannan, fillers such as fiber-based products, and spirulina (a species of blue-green algae) (Source: U.S. FDA Brochure, "The Facts about Weight Loss Products and Programs," 1992).
Horrobin (U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,049) has disclosed the use of .gamma.-linolenic acid and dihomo-.gamma.-linolenic acid, alone and in combination with zinc, .beta.-lactam antibiotics, or other materials that influence prostaglandin imbalance to treat obesity. The zinc is believed to stimulate the biosynthesis of 1-series prostaglandins.
Keane (U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,750) discloses the use of zinc gluconate for inclusion with an L-glutamine-based composition for weight loss or control.
The use of zinc acetate, an anticopper agent, has been utilized for the treatment of Wilson disease, a relatively rare disorder resulting in copper toxicity (see, for example, G. J. Brewer and V. Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan, "Wilson Disease," Medicine 71(3), 139-64, 1992). The recommended dosage is 50 mg three times per day. In monitoring patients it was found that serum amylase and lipase levels were mildly elevated during the early months of zinc therapy, which may be due to an increase in induction of the enzymes.